Automatic street-railway switch.



no immm.

PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903. J. R. KLIPPELT, H. W. JEFPERS & W. D. BRADFORD.

AUTOMATIC STREET RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLIOLTIOH FILED FEB. 5, 1902.

2 BHBETBSHEET 1.

N0 717,689. I PATENTED JAN. s, 1903. J. R. KLIPPBLT, H. w. anrrsns & w.n BRADFORD.

AUTOMATIC STREET RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLIOATIOH FILED FEB. By. 1902 30 MODEL. 2 SHSETSSEEET 2.

W Ziilfli W %Z&M

NiTED STATES .ATENT OFFICE.

JAMES R. KLIPPELT, HOWARD W. JEFFERS, AND WILLIAM D. BRADFORD,

OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC STREET-RAILWAY SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,689, dated January6, 1903.

To a/ZZ whorl t it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES R. KLIPPELT, HOWARD W. JEFFERS,and WILLI M D.BRAD- FORD, citizens of the United States, residing at Pittsburg,"in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Automatic Street- Railway Switches, of whichimprovement the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved automatic streetrailway switch;and it consists in the certain detailsof construction and combination ofparts, as will be fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of astreet-railway switch, the same being provided with our improvedoperating device, being constructed and arranged in accordance with ourinvention; Fig. 2 is a side sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 isan enlarged side sectional elevation of the two operatinglevers,together with their connected operating mechanism, and also aside view of the trolley connected to the base or platform of the car.Fig. 4 is a plan view, with cover removed, of one of theoperatinglevers. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the box or frame containingthe lever for operating the switch-tongue. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sideelevation of the box or frame in which the bell-crank is mounted.

To construct a switch-turning device in accordance with our invention,whereby the moving car will automatically turn the switchbar in eitherdirection, we arrange in connection with the ordinary switch orturn-out, consisting of the rails 1 and the pivoted switch-bar 2, anddirectly opposite the latter, a box or frame 3, the same being flushwith the street-level and provided with a lid or cover 4. Pivotallymounted within this box 3 is a bell-crank 5, attached to a connectingbar7, the other end of which is loosely connected to the switch-bar 2, thesaid connecting-bar passing through an underground conduit, as will bethe drawings.

Attached to the other end of this said bell-crank 5 is a bar 8, arrangedin a similar conduit 9 and connected loosely to the-lower end of anangular operating-lever 15. This angular operating-lever 15 is mountseenby reference to Fig. l of- Application filed February 5, 1902.Seriallll'c. 92,696. (No model.)

ed in a frame 10 upon suitable brackets 12, (see Fig. 3,) attached inposition by means of bolts 14, and the upper portion of the said leverprojecting above the generalsurface of the street in order that acontact-trolley 24 may engage with the same during the movement of thecar over the device. The said trolley and its connections will behereinafter described. This operating-lever 15 is pivoted or journaledupon a shaft 16 and projects above the surface of the lid or cover 26 ofthe box containing the same,'and a springactuated device (see Fig. 6) isarranged beneath to recover or bring the parts back to their normalposition. This last-mentioned device consists of a bar 18, arranged insuitable slides, the top portion of which is constantly in contact withthe under side of the lever 15 and is formed at the base with an angularportion 21, formed with a V-shaped part 22, adapted to engage with anotch 23, formed on the under side of the bar 9, above mentioned, forthe purpose of looking the switch-tongue 2 in the position thrown by thelast car passing over the device. The spring 20 for recovering the partsrests upon a bracket 19, formed integral with the box or frame 10,. andbears against a projecting portion of the vertically-moving bar 18. Atthe left of Fig. 3 of the drawings is a similar box or frame, which islocated along the line of track at a greater distance from the switchbar'or tongue 2 and contains the same mechanism previously describedwhen referring to the box or frame nearest the switch. These twooperating-levers 15 and 15 are connected together by a bar 8 and operatein unison, the one at all times being either above or below thesurfaceof the cover 26, ready to engage with the trolley 24,beforementioned.

This above-mentioned trolley 24 is suitably mounted upon avertically-sliding bar 26, mounted in a suitable frame. attached beneaththe platformof the car and provided with a tread and recovering-spring27 and 28 in a manner that the motorman or operator may by means of hisfoot press the said trolley down and be brought in contact with thelevers 15 or 15, depressing either of the said levers to operate theswitch-tongue in either direction.

In operation the ear provided with our improved device will uponapproaching the switch automatically turn the same for the main track orthe turn-out, at the option of the motorman, it only being necessary toengage the trolley 24 with the first lever 15 to open the switch for theturn-out, or with the second lever 15 for the main track, as is obvious,and also to lock the said switch in any desired position by theengagement of the parts 22 with the notches 23, formed upon the underside of the bar 8.

Other slight modifications and changes may be made in the variousdetails of construction without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patout. is-

1. The herein-described automatic-operated street-railway switch,consisting of the bellcrank loosely attached to the switch-bar, theoperating-levers 15,and 15 arranged the one in line with the other andattached to the said bell-crank, a spring to recover the said levers,and a trolley attached to the car adapted to contact with and operatethe levers, as and for the purpose described.

2. In a device for the purpose described,the combination consisting ofthe bell-crank 5, loosely connected to the switch-bar 2, and mountedwithin a suitable box or frame 3, the two operating-levers '15 and 15'the one arranged in line with the other and adapted to be extended abovethe surface of the rails, a spring-actuated bar 18 arranged beneath eachof the said levers, and a locking device adapted to engage with the barconnecting the aforesaid levers, all arranged and combined,substantially as and for the purpose described. I

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES R. KLIPPELT. HOWARD W. JEFFERS. WILLIAM D. BRADFORD.

In presence of JOHN GROETZINGER, M. HUN'roN.

